Gebet für den Kaiser | Prayer for Kaiser Franz Josef Ⅰ, Emperor of Austria — by Rabbi Dr. Max Grunwald (1914)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Max Grunwald

Shared on:

20 November 2025 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

Categories:

Tags:

20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., Austrian Empire, Austrian Jewry, Franz Joseph I of Austria, Prayers for leaders, World War Ⅰ

Source (German)

Translation (English)

Allmächtiger Gott und Weltenherr!
Der Du Könige und Fürsten hast erkoren und berufen,
daß sie in Weisheit und Gerechtigkeit ihr Volk regieren,
verleihe Deinen göttlichen Schutz und Beistand
unserem Fürsten und Herrn,
Deinem Gesalbten,
unserem Kaiser Franz Josef dem Ersten.

Almighty God and Lord of the Worlds!
You who have chosen and called kings and princes
to rule their people with wisdom and justice,
grant Your divine protection and assistance
to our prince and lord,
Your anointed one,
our Emperor Franz Josef the First.

Mehre seine Tage
und kröne ihn mit Sieg und Ruhm und Herrlichkeit.
Segne alle Angehörigen des erlauchten Fürstenstammes!
Segne unser Heer!
Segne das gesamte Vaterland,
daß Eintracht und Friede seine Stämme einige,
Licht und Wissenschaft das Volk erhöhe,
Tugend und Oottesfurcht die innere Lebenskraft im Volke sei,
Amen!

Extend his days
and crown him with victory, glory, and honor.
Bless all members of the illustrious princely family!
Bless our army!
Bless the entire fatherland,
that harmony and peace may unite its tribes,
that light and science may elevate the people,
that virtue and fear of God may be the inner vitality of the people.
Amen!

Source(s)

Notes

Notes
1	Franz Josef (1830-1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his death in 1916. In the early part of his reign, his realms and territories were referred to as the Austrian Empire, but in 1867 they were reconstituted as the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. From 1 May 1850 to 24 August 1866, he was also president of the German Confederation. On 28 June 1914, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo resulted in Austria-Hungary’s declaration of war against the Kingdom of Serbia, which was an ally of the Russian Empire. This activated a system of alliances declaring war on each other, which resulted in World War Ⅰ.

Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)

Max Grunwald

Max Grunwald (born October 10, 1871 in Zabrze, Upper Silesia; died January 24, 1953 in Jerusalem) was a Conservative rabbi in Hamburg and Vienna and author of works on Jewish history and folklore. He was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary in Breslau in 1892 and in 1895 began serving as the rabbi of the New Dammthor Synagogue in Hamburg. In 1903, after moving to Vienna he began serving the Turnergasse synagogue, and from 1913, the Leopoldstadt Temple. An erudite scholar, he founded the Society for Jewish Folklore and served as its editor of correspondence until 1929.

Stable Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=64686

Associated Image:

Franz Joseph I of Austria, 1910 (credit: Carl Pietzner) — cropped

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו׃ (תהלים צ:יז) · "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." (Psalms 90:17)

Gebet für den Kaiser | Prayer for Kaiser Franz Josef Ⅰ, Emperor of Austria — by Rabbi Dr. Max Grunwald (1914)

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